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KristineS
12-14-2008, 04:36 PM
I put this in the HR section because I know this is an issue that has had an impact on who I hired for a position.

I was raised to have impeccable grammar. Speaking poorly was a serious sin in our house. You spoke properly and you spoke clearly and you knew what the proper rules of grammar were. My family has a lot of educators in it, so we were immediately corrected as kids if we spoke less than grammatically.

Too this day poor grammar, whether written or spoken, grates on me. When I've done interviews I've had a hard time with some candidates because their grammar wasn't the best. I can overcome it, the designer I hired this last time is a great designer and a terrific lady, but her grammar isn't the best. It was a good hiring decision, as she's worked out well, but I struggled with it a bit.

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who has these sorts of issues? It would be interesting to see what things are hang ups for others who interview.

Blessed
12-14-2008, 06:12 PM
Grammer is a bit of an issue for me - mine isn't perfect... but my Grandma and Aunts sure did try to make it perfect :)

Anyway - two of the biggest issues I had when I was in a position to conduct interviews were with people who came in dressed sloppy - even if it was a suit & tie... if there was lint on the suit, or the shirt was wrinkled or the tie was crooked, or they had broccoli in their teeth it just really made me wonder how much they would care about the job they did since they didn't seem to know how to pay attention to the impression they were making. The other issue was with the people who came in trying to convince me that they already knew everything and were the best, brightest, etc... on the market - it rang false to me and that bothered me.

KristineS
12-15-2008, 12:48 PM
The other issue was with the people who came in trying to convince me that they already knew everything and were the best, brightest, etc... on the market - it rang false to me and that bothered me.

That one gets me too. There were a few people I interviewed who were great on paper, but when I interviewed them I just knew I'd be fighting them for control within months. I don't want a tug of war, I want someone who can work with me.

I'm always wary of someone who comes in and thinks they know everything. No one knows everything. You can always learn something.

billbenson
12-15-2008, 03:46 PM
I read an article a while back that one of the biggest negatives for a job recruiter for someone coming out of college is the excessive use of the word "like". However, its a really hard habit to break.

Also, let me ask a related question. A number of years ago, I went job hunting. I've been out of the corporate world and have a closet full of custom suites that don't fit me. The position I was applying for was an IT sales position. I didn't feel like buying a several hundred dollar suit for a job interview. Also Florida is a less formal state. Even today you will see the President of the US giving a speech in a shirt and no tie. So I put on a pair of dress slacks and a dress shirt. No tie.

It didn't come up in the interview, but had it come up I would have told the truth. I've been self employeed for years and haven't needed a suit. Do you think not wearing a suit hurt me in that interview?

KristineS
12-15-2008, 04:03 PM
I get versions of the same question as I am often told I should wear a suit with a skirt to interviews. I don't often wear skirts, and I have yet to encounter a job where I live that required dressing up in a formal business suit.

In my opinion it depends on the area and the prevailing culture of the company. Where I live and where I was interviewing, it is mostly smaller companies and more casual. You should dress nicely and seriously, but getting all done up in an expensive suit would seem like overkill.

I'd guess the only way not wearing a suit could hurt you was if that's the dress code where you were interviewing. If you'd shown up in jeans and flip flops that might have been another thing, but it sounds like you were dressed nicely, just not wearing a tie.

Vivid Color Zack
12-15-2008, 04:34 PM
Around here (southern california) there are TONS of ASI (action sports industry) companies and a lot of the graphic designers I've worked with have come from this background. In interviews with them I haven't cared much what they wear, because I don't expect them to represent me and my company in person at any time. If they can't speak well enough to convince me they were able to complete high school I can't hire them, because at some point they will pick up the phone or have to correspond through email and I can't spend my day proof reading emails between customer and designer.

As long as I can tell they showered before coming to speak with me I can usually overlook a lot of dress issues.

But... my environment isn't anything close to PROFESSIONAL, ideally over time my office situation will become LESS professional rather than more. I'd like our front office to look like a mac store - more or less.

billbenson
12-15-2008, 05:17 PM
The job I was applying for was a professional job. I don't recall what the interviewer was wearing, but I suspect I would remember if it was a suit. I've seen a definite trend for business casual. I'm not sure if that applies to interviews though. If I was desperate for a job, I'd buy a suit. It kind of says "I really want this job". It doesn't say I'm the best qualified though.

Back to the original subject though. Good communication is always important. That includes good grammar. No matter what you do in a company, you are a salesman. You sell yourself in a job interview. You represent your company as a warehouse worker. I think its a factor that should at least be considered in the equation of who to hire.

Evan
12-15-2008, 10:10 PM
Dress for an interview always depends on the corporate culture and the industry. Public accounting is very conservative, so going to an interview without a tie would be too casual. Even if I was in public accounting in my own firm but now looking to dissolve it, the fact that I was casual would still be irrelevent to the industry.

Grammar is important, but it depends on the job. I'd rather have somebody who can speak well with grammatical problems than a person who cannot speak well without any grammatical problems.

seolman
12-15-2008, 10:52 PM
In Costa Rica we have a number of cultural and unusual labor law issues we must take into consideration but for me it's more about attitude and character first, then we look at everything else. The labor laws here are slanted heavily toward the worker and there is little incentive to work so we look for those who love what they do and are self motivated first. Over the years we've developed a pretty good system for picking good people and have a great team but it's been a long hard road.

orion_joel
12-16-2008, 12:36 AM
Unfortunately i must admit that my grammer is not really the absolute best, that it could be. While i do make much effort to be as good as i can in grammer, i am sure that there are some points where i slip up. However work is just putting me through a course that has a communication portion in it, which does have some tricks for getting away from the um, like and the many other filler non words.

When dressing though, i find that every job interview i have ever been for i wore a collar and tie. I just do it by default. For me it all comes down to the first impression rule, first impressions count, and i dont think it is so much about being over dressed but being dressed neat and tidy and to ensure the first impression is the best one.

Evan
12-16-2008, 03:02 PM
In Costa Rica we have a number of cultural ... issues we must take into consideration.

This also becomes a fine line in America. In America, if we don't like the grammar of a candidate over another, and race or culture is the prevalent difference, certainly that could be something your company gets sued over.

So grammar can be a fine-line issue, depending on the nature of the job.